S305 Valuable Resources
by ZenosParadox
Summary: RS, Ma. Hoshi and Malcolm's view of the encounter with the Vulcan ship in the Expanse. Missing scenes for Impulse, Season 3, Episode 5.


Title: Valuable Resources Author: ZenosParadoxRating: PG  
  
Summary: RS, Ma. Hoshi and Malcolm's view of the encounter with the Vulcan ship in the Expanse. Missing scenes for Impulse, Season 3, Episode 5.  
  
Notes: Mild spoilers for Impulse. 4 pages. Written October 8, 2003 and posted at LD. Minor revisions for this posting. Disclaimer: The characters belong to Paramount. This fiction was written solely for personal enjoyment.  
  
VALUABLE RESOURCES  
  
Lieutenant Reed gave the rifle the Enterprise had confiscated from the Xindi to Ensign Sato. He then activated the target. "You've acquired the target? All right, now, close your eyes and try to fire."   
  
Reed studied Sato as she followed his instructions. He noted the length of her eyelashes as her eyelids closed. Not good, so he focused on the expression of concentration on her face, especially the way the curve of her lips exuded her confidence. Still not good. Why not just focus on the graceful pose as she held the weapon, her lithe body that held just the right contours... Damn! This was getting difficult.   
  
Sato pulled the trigger three times, but nothing happened. She thought Reed would find fault with her posture or handling of the weapon. She waited for his disappointment, but was surprised when he simply asked, "What did you notice when you pulled the trigger?"  
  
"Nothing at all. The mechanism responded, but nothing happened."  
  
"Did you hear anything unusual?" asked Reed with a nod of his head.   
  
Sato was a bit relieved to think the problem was not with her. She reviewed her actions and finally said, "Yes, instead of the high-pitched whine, the charge emitted a lower tone, almost a hum."   
  
Sato turned to Reed and noticed he was recording her observations in his notes. "Was that why you wanted me to try out the weapon?"  
  
"I'm still trying to figure this weapon out. We've been delayed in running a diagnostic, but I wasn't sure whether an acoustic analysis would be worth the time. I think your empirical observation would justify it." Reed gave her one of his characteristic smirks.  
  
"Why do I feel like I'm being used?" asked Sato of the weapon before handing it to the Lieutenant.  
  
"Don't whine, Ensign. Consider yourself a valuable resource. Besides, you got to play with a new toy; that should count for something."  
  
"This valuable resource had better get to the bridge. I'm pulling a double-shift tonight since Cramer got sick." She noticed Reed rubbing his eyes and added, "You look like you need some sleep, Lieutenant."  
  
"That's exactly where I'm heading, to a nice, clean, comfortable bed."  
  
"I wish I could join you," mumbled Sato as she stifled a yawn. Wait? Did she just say--she looked at Reed and noticed he was suddenly very interested in putting away the weapon. "Um, I better go. I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
Malcolm merely nodded to her as she left, but released a sigh when she was gone. He muttered quietly under his breath, "I wish you could, too."  
  
-----  
  
~"You look like you need some sleep, Lieutenant."  
  
"That's exactly where I'm heading, to a nice, clean, comfortable bed."  
  
"How about I join you?"  
  
Hoshi approached Malcolm and brought her hands onto his shoulders as his arms wound about her waist. Just as he was about to kiss her, she said, "Lieutenant Reed?"~  
  
"...Lieutenant Reed? You need to report to duty."  
  
Malcolm sat up in his bunk as he realized Hoshi's voice was coming from the intercom. He quickly moved to the comm unit. "Reed here."  
  
"Lieutenant, we're responding to a distress call from a Vulcan ship. The Captain wants you to meet him at the shuttle bay." Sato relayed the orders, but couldn't resist adding, "Sorry to disrupt your time in your nice, clean, comfortable bed."  
  
Reed could almost see the grin on her face. She was enjoying this, he could tell. "It's the price I pay for being a valuable resource. Tell the Captain I'm on my way."  
  
Sato turned off the comm link, but the smile on her face lingered. She was thinking about a certain Lieutenant being caught off guard, his face relaxed, hair disheveled, sleeping in his--what did he sleep in anyway? Wait. Why the hell did she care?   
  
Sato punched a few buttons on her console angrily as she noticed a flush creeping up her cheeks. Thank goodness Travis wasn't around; he'd tease her for sure. She liked being alone, damn it! She relaxed and prepared for the rescue operation. It would be nice to run into a familiar species out here in the Expanse.   
  
~~~~~  
  
Twenty-four hours later, Sato and Mayweather were listening to Reed as he described their latest encounter with the Vulcan ship while they shared a meal in the mess hall.   
  
"Man, it sounds like one of those old horror movies: Night of the Vulcan Zombies," said Mayweather as he brought his hands into a claw-like position. "Which reminds me, Trip said we're going to have a movie night next Tuesday. You guys coming?"  
  
"No, with my luck Trip will select a horror movie. I can do without that." Reed was shaking his head firmly and Mayweather realized he wouldn't be budged.  
  
"It's a comedy." Mayweather soon added, "But I suppose unless there are explosions..."  
  
"Not interested," said Reed. "But Hoshi still holds the record for not attending movies."  
  
Sato gave a quick wink to Reed and said, "I promised to help Malcolm with the acoustic analysis of that Xindi weapon."  
  
"Okay, fine, I know a brush off when I hear one. It's your loss." Mayweather stretched before standing. "I'm getting some shut eye. See you later."  
  
The mess hall was quiet after he left. Hoshi looked at Malcolm as he sat with a pensive expression on his face, then she said, "Come on, your dessert isn't going to get eaten by just staring at it. You can walk me to my quarters."  
  
-----   
  
Malcolm allowed Hoshi to lead the way and didn't protest when she shoved him through her door. He approached her window and stared out at the stars.   
  
"Something's bothering you, Malcolm." She stood beside him, looking at his face reflected in the window.   
  
"I messed up badly, Hoshi," said Malcolm quietly.   
  
"What are you talking about? You got everyone safely off the Vulcan ship. Phlox said you did a commendable job patching up Hawkins. His blood loss could have been fatal otherwise."  
  
"It was my idea to overload the circuits on the ship." He looked down and added, "It was my work that destroyed the vessel--and the one hundred forty-three Vulcans on that ship. And it's all because I messed up."  
  
"I still don't understand, Malcolm," said Hoshi as she gently put a hand on his arm.  
  
"T'Pol was going to use a back-up system to unseal our path to the shuttlepod. I was helping--I thought I was helping when I reconfigured the circuits. I could have sworn I did exactly what she said--"  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"She was shocked when she touched the control panel, blamed me for the problem and literally shoved me out of the way."  
  
"That was the trellium-D affecting her, Malcolm. You're the only crewmember who consistently gets satisfactory performance ratings from her. I was jealous of you for a while about that." Hoshi added the last with a small smile on her face. She could tell the incident disturbed the tactical officer.  
  
"The only solution was to induce an overload at that point. I didn't say anything earlier, but I already knew what I needed to do. And I knew it would cost the lives of the Vulcan crew."  
  
"Phlox said there was nothing we could do for them and you were following the Captain's orders."  
  
"Do you think T'Pol will see it that way? Hoshi, she was so different when she lost control. The sheer venom of her words, the paranoia--I know it was induced by the trellium-D, but what if there's a grain of truth in what she said?"  
  
"There probably was some truth. If you consider the attitude of the Captain and Trip toward her when we started on Enterprise, she has a lot of fuel for her anger. But now all of us see her as a valuable resource."  
  
"I'm beginning to wonder if I have any value other than destruction," said Malcolm with a note of bitterness. "It was a lovely set of explosions, Hoshi. You would have appreciated them."  
  
Hoshi turned Malcolm to face her and said, "I appreciate you, Malcolm Reed. You protected your crew. You are not some monster, not when you can feel the pain of that destruction. You're only human. Give in to it, Malcolm. There's no shame in it and you know you can trust me."  
  
Malcolm blinked his eyes, but Hoshi's comforting tone and gentle touch broke the barriers he had placed on his emotions since he had first stepped on the Vulcan ship. He felt no shame as he leaned into her to draw on her warmth and comfort. The tears fell quietly as he shed his despair and clung tightly to hope.  
  
*****  
  
Author notes: Slight revision regarding the Xindi weapon from the original version. I wrote these as soon as the episodes ended, so I'm having to go back and tweak some details for the consistency I want to maintain. Of course, I still end up with Hoshi and Malcolm kissing a lot of times... I blame the shipper in me.  
  
Thanks for reading. No reviews are necessary. 


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